On the last day of February (the 29th) in 1912, the Denver Post ran a roundup story of the month’s snowy weather records. Today, February 27, 2015, the city has a new record of 22.2″ of snowfall for the month, breaking that of 1912.

It’s fun to turn back the pages — and the clock– and enjoy the news coverage as if it was happening today.

Here’s the headline:

And the best of the 1912 story:

“All records for snowfall have been broken by the fall this month. Twenty-two and one-tenth inches have fallen during the month, the greatest fall ever recorded by the weather bureau since it began its present system of records, in 1885.

The greatest snowfall in twenty-four hours ever recorded also occurred this month between 6 p.m. February 23 and 6 p.m. February 24. On the evening of February 25 there was 12.8 inches of snow on the ground, which breaks still another record, the next greatest amount which the weather man can show in his books being 10 inches on February 23, 1909.

All railroad lines connecting Denver with the East and Southeast at 9 o’clock this morning were again open to traffic for the first time in four days. The Santa Fe was the last of the roads to overcome the snow blockades in Kansas. Denver passengers, who were aboard eight Santa Fe trains held up since Sunday at Dodge City and Kinsley, Kan., began arriving in the city this afternoon.

Twelve trains on the Santa Fe, all of which were blocked by snow in Kansas since last Sunday, passed through La Junta today. There was no suffering among passengers on blockaded trains as the company held trains at stations where there was an ample supply of food and where the passengers during their enforced stay were fed at the expense of the company. In some places in Kansas, according to reports brought to Denver, the tracks were buried under fifteen feet of snow.”

The story goes on to give the local transport picture:

“The local Tramway company was seriously troubled yesterday by snow drifts which were piled up on its lines by the high wind. Out on the Littleton line, the cars ran into drifts four feet deep. Today there was a series of accidents on the Aurora line which delayed the cars all morning and there was also trouble on the West Larimer line. The Globeville cars had to couple up to get through.”

This week, record-breaking cold temperatures are descending on Denver, making weather wonks scratch their heads in wonder — we are colder than it was on this date in 1916!

On November 12, 1916, The Denver Post remarked on the weather, airily imparting handy driving advice:

November 12, 1916 story.

The story proceeds to warn drivers of danger on two bridges on the road to Brighton, “one has a railing broken off and the other has a hole in its floor. Drive slowly and carefully over them.”

It goes on. “The Arvada and Broomfield roads are fair, but slippery. They were pretty rough before the storm, and the snow probably hasn’t improved them a great deal.”

Oh, how very helpful! But it gets better:

“Don’t start out without chains. No one can vouch for the condition of the roads far from the city. The mountain passes are probably pretty bad.”

But on the following day, Monday, November 13, 1916, the hard facts had been established, and our story relayed the bad weather news from far and wide.

November 13, 1916 cold wave story.

The low temperatures recorded from various western locations are detailed. Denver’s low is given as minus 3 degrees, not quite jibing with modern weatherkeepers’ records of 4 below 0. Then, for comparison, the story cites previous weather thrills:

“…Denver is not quite as badly off as it was on Nov. 7, 1880, when it was 14 below, or on Nov. 18, 1880, when it was 12 below. In 1882 it was 2 below on Nov. 12. The coldest of recent years in early November was on Nov. 11, 1911, when it was 2 below. A year ago today it was 26 above.”

The biggest blizzard known hit Denver a century ago, in the first days of December, 1913. The snowstorm of historic proportions swooped over Colorado and other western states, leaving a devastating crust of heavy snow 45.7 inches deep in the city.

Front page, December 5, 1913

By Friday, December 5, the city was clambering from under its white mantle, trying to get back to business. Hilarious headlines of the day read, “Schools Are All Closed Until Safety Reigns!” and “Mantle of Shimmering White Stops Activity And Everybody Jollifies!”

The Denver Post, rarely to be accused of understatement, published its “SOUVENIR EDITION OF THE DAY OF THE BIG STORM” and whipped up headlines such as:
“No trains… No Schools… No Taxis, No Mails, No Noises, No Deliveries, No Funerals, Nothing But Snow, Snow, Snow and Still Falling…”

Trolley car trundles up 16th St.

The photo above, taken the morning of December 6, shows a few people trudging through knee-deep drifts at 16th and Welton Streets. The city tramway trolley car seems unhindered. The Daniels and Fisher tower is visible in the distance.

Today, most people have experienced a big snowstorm or two, but it may be difficult to imagine how paralyzing a blizzard can be; the amount of snowfall coupled with fierce winds creates drifts that can bury livestock, farmhouses, roads, trains, streets, building entries and vehicles.

“Guard Your Coal Bin” brays a headline. “Downtown stores, hospitals, city institutions are cold today. They find themselves with a limited supply of coal on hand and are forced to be sparing in its use. Every person in Denver who has not at least a week’s supply should watch every pound of coal.”

There was further worry about poor people who could not get out of their homes to buy a few more lumps of coal.

But the main civic problem in 1913 became evident as snow removal got underway. Where, oh where, to put it all?

Man walks in snow removal dump area.

Any open space became a target for dumping of tons of snow removed from city streets. In the photo below, the state Capitol building can be seen, showing an open area not far from today’s Civic Center Park. Horses and mule teams and wagons, still in common use, were employed for days, clearing up walkways and roads.

Snow removal, 1913 blizzard

The photo below shows that even days afterward, snow removal activity is ongoing on 16th Street in downtown Denver, when sidewalks are clear but only a center track of the street is yet passable.

Wagon teams tackle snow removal.

However, in mountain communities, the situation was more dire. Up to 60″ of snow had fallen in some Colorado communities, as the photo below shows. This is a shot of the corner of Main and Eureka Streets in Central City. Weeks would go by before any regular transportation routes could be renewed.

We knew it was coming. Colorado weather forecasters got it right. The word B-L-I-Z-Z-A-R-D was splayed across maps of the state 31 years ago. And the citizens who lived through the Blizzard of 1982 have never quite forgotten it.

On Christmas Eve, snow fell heavily on Denver, as everywhere in Colorado and it continued to fall through December 25. High winds whipped snow into massive drifts over highways, cars, livestock, houses and streets. Travelers were stranded for days after giving up the fight to get anywhere. Schools were already closed for the holiday, so most people stayed exactly where they were and waited out the storm.

[media-credit id=470 align=”aligncenter” width=”300″][/media-credit] Rick Slezak, with pet dog Beau, skied to the Denver Post newspaper box at 1800 Downing Street. There were no newspapers because the blizzard had blocked all streets.

The official tally by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was 23.8 inches. Some areas received a good deal more, closer to 29 inches. Does it really matter how much? Life in the city was seriously disrupted. Roads were impassable. No one could get to work. Those who were at work didn’t make it home.

Hospitals made desperate pleas for people with four-wheel-drive vehicles to come forward to assist in transporting patients to emergency rooms.

In the absence of their planned holiday dinner guests, many households feasted merrily all by themselves.

When the wind stopped howling, there were signs of activity. Neighbors slowly emerged, curious to see how those across the street had fared. They happily reconnected with each other over their snow shovels.

After digging narrow paths to get to the streets, people tried any mode of transportation possible. Few people in those days had snowmobiles, so out came the snowshoes, cross-country skis and horses. Cheers rose up when anyone in a four-wheeled drive vehicle actually got out of his own neighborhood. Camaraderie was as much a universal theme as cabin fever.

Supermarkets ran out of perishables, bread, eggs, milk… and beer.

[media-credit name=”Denver Post photo by John Prieto” align=”aligncenter” width=”495″][/media-credit] Amy Prieto scales a huge snow drift in front of her home during the Christmas blizzard.

There have been some record blizzards and snowfalls in Denver over the past 100 years and three of them certainly stand out. In fact, we are at the centenary anniversary of the largest recorded blizzard to hit the metro area.

In the first week of December, 1913, 45.7 inches of snow buried the city, making snow removal a terrible challenge. The open space in front of the state capitol building, now Civic Center Park, was the destination of hundreds and hundreds of horse-drawn wagonloads of snow.

A memorable blizzard descended on the city on Christmas Eve, 1982, and dumped almost two feet of snow over the following day, virtually closing the city. People unable to get to holiday celebrations or work found a challenging environment awaited when they ventured out. They were seen breaking trails on city streets on horseback, skis and snowshoes. Drivers of four-wheel-drive vehicles were requested to ferry patients and staff to hospitals in emergency situations.

In the heaviest snowfall since 1913, a mid-March blizzard in 2003 dropped 31.8 inches in Denver, making it one of the costliest storms to address, at a whopping $33.6 million, based on insurance claims.

Here is the complete breakdown from NOAA:

1.

45.7 inches

December 1-5, 1913

2.

31.8 inches

March 17-19, 2003

3.

30.4 inches

November 2-4, 1946

4.

23.8 inches

December 24, 1982

5.

23.0 inches

April 23, 1885

6.

22.7 inches

October 20-23, 1906

7.

21.9 inches

October 24-25, 1997

8.

21.5 inches

November 26-27, 1983

9.

20.7 inches

December 20-21, 2006

10.

19.3 inches

January 29-31, 1883

11.

19.0 inches

April 24-25, 1935

12.

18.7 inches

March 5-6, 1983

13.

18.5 inches

March 20-22, 1944

14.

18.2 inches

April 17-19, 1920

15.

18.0 inches

March 19-20, 1907

16.

18.0 inches

March 31-Apr 1, 1891

17.

17.7 inches

November 19-21, 1979

[“Denver Public LIbrary Western History Department” align=”aligncenter” width=”495″][/media-credit]

This photo, taken the morning of Dec. 6, 1913, during the great snowstorm of 1913 shows people trudging through snow at 16th Street and Welton Street. The City Tramway trolley car is hindered by the piles of snow in the street .